St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1887-12-01

joice in it, but the forest blooms are
like lovely infants that cannot inter
pref the alteration of lip or eye, but
are tranquil and at peace however
they may be worshipped. Jim had
many time revolved in his uncertain
mind plans to bring about that Thanks
giving feast at the poor farm that he
had determined to have "whether or
no"; but till this hour he had not
thought of enlisting Miss Florinda in
his enterprise ; she looked so pleased,
however, with his great bunch of gen.
tians, and thanked him SO warmly,
that suddenly a definite idea sprang
into his mind.
"Say, Miss Florry," he began, "would
you mind settin' down on this here
bench minute9 l want for to ask
We sumthin'."
FlOrinda sat down at once; she had
never forgotten that Jim had conveyed
to her the precious locket which was
her sole relic of Harry, and her hour
ly comfort.
"Well, Jim, what is itf What can
| do for you 2" she said in her kind
sweet voice
"Why, L dom know as you ever
happened to think ont. l don't no
way suppose you did; folks has got
lots of other things to think of b'sides
town poor; what's alters under foot
amt never in mind, I've heerd say"
A few words from a certain Book,
that nOway more strongly vindicates
its own divinity than by this strange
recurrence to the mind of it's warnings
and celebrations at opposite moments,
flashed through FlOrinda's thought,
"The poor we have always with YOU"
Jim went on $50, like enough, you
and your folks to meetin' never think
but what we have Thanksgivin' out to
the poor farm same as the rest of ye
but we don't, never. Leastways no
thin but Injin puddin' an baked
skOsh an if we be poor we have hank
erin's sometimes. Ceph Walker says
It poor folks haven't got nOthin' to be
thankful for, that's why !; but | bet We
they'd all be thankful enough for one
lickin' good dinner of turkey an onions
an crambry sass and lots O. pie, sech
as the fellers to school used to tell
about. We amt none of us SO t1eshy
'twOuld be bad to have one good film
set to-" @
FlOrinda's eyes filled with tears; she
could not but think of one of those
"fellers to school" MhO would never sit
at the Thanksgiving feast again for
by this time she felt that Harry was
lost to her till such time as the sea
should give up its dead and the earth
be no more. The rest of that persist
ent text came to her, "WhensOever We
will, We may do them good" Never
again should she sing beside Harry in
sSIn InnD-
practised Thanksgiving anthems as
founded that rustic congregation new
er again compound some remarkable
pie or new sort of pudding, and send
it over to the widow Dennis, i'm return
for the milk pan full of raised dough-
nuts that good woman had always sent
to her by Harry's willing hands; never
any more would she gather the cher
ished rose bud from her little stand of
flowers in the kitchen window, tie it
up with fragrant leaves of geranium,
and pin it into Harry's buttonhOle,
when he called for her to go to the
dance in some neighbours great kitchen
or new barn, with which Dalton folks
always wound up Thanksgiving day
but here were the poor close to her,
whose dreary lives could be lightened,
who could be made partakers in the
one New England holiday, if she would
exert herself to bring it about.
''Jim," she said, rising energetically
from the old bench, "you shall have
Thanksgiving dinner there, this time
atsleast."
"Whether or no 2" he asked eagerly.
"Whether or no." laughed Florinda.
Concluded neat aoeek.